Archaeologists at Hogwarts

Chapter 226 Witness
The courtroom fell silent in an instant, everyone had shocked expressions on their faces, and it turned into a denunciation in a very short period of time.

"Look at what you're talking about?!"

"Merlin, I think I should go, this is a complete waste of time."

"How dare you slander a great magician like this!"

No one thought Fudge was telling the truth, they all thought he was crazy.

"quiet!"

A square-jawed witch sitting on Fudge's left loudly maintained order, and when the uproar finally subsided, she looked at Fudge, who had been keeping a close eye on Dumbledore, and said, "I haven't received any notice to temporarily change the case, Minister, This is not in line with the Wizengamot Charter of Rights, nor is it part of the policy of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Fudge stared at Dumbledore without blinking, but he didn't see any expression he wanted on Dumbledore's face.

"Actually, Mr. Burns, the two cases are the same thing."

Fudge said darkly, "You'll soon find out—now, open the cage, and let that rat reappear."

Toby was about to open the cage, but Scrimgeour stopped him.

"Sit still," Scrimgeour warned, and gave Dumbledore an extra vigilant look.

He opened the cage and placed the sleeping mouse on the floor, and the members of the Wizengamot stretched their necks to watch—they knew the origin of the mouse in the Weasley family's trial, Then this couldn't be more normal, it's just an ordinary pet, but it lives an extra long time, longer than ordinary mice.

Scrimgeour rested his wand on the mouse, and whispered the spell.

With a flash of light, the sleepy mouse gradually turned into human limbs. This man was short and fat, and he was still in a state of deep sleep. Before coming to the Ministry of Magic, Toby gave him a lot of sleeping pills .

Some jurors recognized the man's appearance.

"Peter Pettigrew, this is impossible, he is obviously dead."

"I recognize him. I was the examiner of his ordinary wizard level examination back then, and I will never admit it wrong."

"But how?"

"Quiet." Fudge said impatiently: "Wake him up quickly, there are still a lot of questions waiting to be asked of him."

Scrimgeour took out a small bottle from his pocket and put it under Peter's nose for a while. Soon, his eyelids trembled slightly, and he woke up in a daze from sleep.

Pettigrew looked around in horror, and he recognized Fudge at a glance. He lay on the ground and turned his head, and saw Toby, Dumbledore, and Angela sitting on the seats.

"I didn't" he said in a panic, but Scrimgeour couldn't wait that long, he forcibly picked up Peter and pushed him to the chair where the cage was originally placed - the chain shook for a while, unlike the other three, it Immediately, Pettigrew was tightly bound, unable to move.

Fudge took out a large pile of parchment that had been prepared earlier and began to interrogate.

"Are you Peter Pedirou?"

"I-I-I am." Peter stammered, the expression on his face becoming more and more terrified.

"Twelve years ago, in 12, you were the one who took on the role of Secret Keeper for James Potter and Lily Evans, right?"

This is different from the well-known facts. The tragedy about the Potters has already come to fruition. The news circulating in the magic world is that Sirius colluded with Voldemort and persecuted the Potters.

There was a lot of discussion in the tall seats, Ms. Burns held her monocle eye steady, and refused to let go of Peter's abnormal performance.

Peter was trembling all over, his eyes filled with tears, and the chains wrapped him tighter and tighter.

"I can't breathe"

He begged, but Fudge just stared at him coldly, took out another piece of parchment and asked: "According to the judgment results 12 years ago, a whole street of Muggles were killed, you left behind at the crime scene?" There is only one finger on the remains of the dead body, and the last prisoner was identified as Sirius Black - do you have any excuses for this case? Is it the mysterious person you colluded with and pushed all the crimes to Sirius? On Blake?"

The other three immediately noticed Fudge's word - Mysterious Man.

Until now he still wants to throw Grindelwald out of this case.

Peter began to howl loudly, tears and snot all over his face, unable to utter a complete sentence.

Toby leaned aside with a look of disgust, and Fudge seized the time to press Peter quickly, as if he wanted to solve the case as soon as possible.

In fact, there's almost no need for any other evidence - the sudden appearance of someone who's otherwise dead is something that's wrong in itself, and even the most foolish can realize that there's something wrong with Peter Pettigrew.

As the person who actually captured Peter, Toby also described how he secretly replaced Peter from the dormitory without telling a single lie.Angela was his witness, and she was there when Peter showed himself in the office.

The identity of the vice principal of Waggadu has added a lot of points to her, and many people nodded in approval.

"I declare that the vote now begins," Ms. Burns said.

Somehow, it suddenly came to this link.

Toby looked at Dumbledore anxiously, but he remained silent.

Fudge, and most of the jurors were also looking at him, and even Ms. Burns' words were slightly questioning Dumbledore.

If this is the case, there is no need to call all the members of the Wizengamot with such fanfare—now there is no need to vote at all, and everyone believes that Peter is guilty.

"One thing is not accurate."

Finally, Dumbledore spoke, his tone was calm and frightening: "Threats, or the person Peter Pedilu is loyal to is not Voldemort."

He said the man's name under Fudge's furious gaze.

"It's Gellert Grindelwald, who forced Peter Pedillo to persecute the Potters."

Deathly silence once again filled the entire courtroom.

The jurors, as well as Ms. Burns, thought they had misheard the name, and Fudge seemed to rush out angrily to ask Dumbledore why he insisted on doing this.

He had already warned Dumbledore!
Isn't Ariana's name enough? !

"Yes." Dumbledore seemed to finally understand something, he became more relaxed, and continued to speak in a steady voice: "I know this is hard to believe, but who can say for sure? Who would have guessed that at the same time as Voldemort's rise, another Dark Lord was secretly making plans?"

"Is what he said true?!" Fudge stared at Peter fiercely and said, not at all like asking, but forcing him to deny the statement immediately.

Immediately afterwards, Fudge added: "You have to know that once you admit this statement, you will be sent to the International Court of Justice due to the involvement of Gellert Grindelwald. Not every country's Ministry of Magic There's Azkaban that holds prisoners—like the Magical Congress of America—and what they're going to do to you is not just a soul-body separation, or a dementor's kiss, but a real execution."

Peter was terrified, he just wanted to save his life, but when he heard Gellert Grindelwald's reaction was watched by many people.

"Are you trying to induce the defendant to lie, Minister?" Ms. Burns asked calmly.

"You should ask him." Fudge said viciously, "Ask him if it's true or not."

"Who are you referring to?" Burns asked again.

She wasn't being critical, because Fudge turned his eyes to Dumbledore again.

"I mean he should be referring to me, ma'am." Dumbledore said, "I know this is somewhat out of order, but I fully accept any inquiries."

"Then tell me!" Fudge asked immediately: "Why do you believe that Peter Pediru was ordered by Gellert Grindelwald? Do you have any evidence?"

"I'm the evidence." Toby said suddenly, "Angela was also there at the time, and Peter Pedilou said all of these things himself."

"Then why doesn't he answer now?!"

"I think he'll be willing to answer if you'll put away your stomach that's about to spread out on the table."

Fudge's face turned liver-colored, he sat back in his seat, took several deep breaths and said, "I have a different story here, Rufus, please bring the witness, she should have arrived. "

It seemed that this was why Rufus Scrimgeour had been so confident - Fudge had other witnesses.

Toby has silently prepared himself mentally. He recalls the wizards he has encountered one by one. Well, it may not be a wizard. There are hags, giants, and even werewolves. Of course, what is essential is Leprechaun.

As long as he confirmed his identity as a black devil and produced a lot of so-called criminal evidence, then the testimony from Toby's mouth would naturally not be so convincing.

After a while, Scrimgeour returned, not alone - but three women.

Toby on the left knows Rita Skeeter, a reporter from the Daily Prophet, but the people on the right and in the middle don't know.

Standing on the right was a woman who looked like a large pale toad, short and stout, with a broad, flabby face, with a neck as invisible as Vernon's, and a large mouth that drooped downward.Her eyes were large, round, and bulged slightly.

She and Skeeter supported a terribly old woman in the middle, walking very slowly.

"She needs help," said the toad-like woman, with the fussy, shrill voice of a little girl.

"Yes, Minister Umbridge, we can see that, hard work on the road, and make her a chair."

Fudge said proudly as if he had won.

The old woman caught in the middle was sitting on the sofa chair. She seemed to have lost consciousness of everything around her, her eyes were motionless, and she seemed to be in a daze.

After she sat down, the two people next to her did not leave, but stood on the left and the right, which made a small number of jurors dissatisfied.

"Bathilda Bagshot." Fudge introduced loudly: "You should have heard her name, yes, she is the author of "A History of Magic". But only few people know that Bathilda Bagshot is also Gellert Grindelwald's aunt, they are relatives. And Grindelwald lived in her house briefly, and she also knew the Dumbledore family who lived in Godric's Hollow."

Ms. Burns looked at Fudge suspiciously, and she began to perform her own work.

"Is what Minister Fudge said true?" she asked.

Bagshot didn't react at all, but he didn't look frightened.

It was Umbridge again, and she said in a high-pitched voice: "Bathilda Bagshot suffers from severe dementia, and wakes up only for a few hours of the day. Unfortunately, She can't answer your question right now."

Burns frowned and said, "Then how should she perform her duties as a witness?"

"It's all sorted out in advance." Skeeter suddenly took out a pile of rolled parchment from his handbag, sent it to the people in front, and added: "Don't accidentally break it, these It's still useful to record me."

Dumbledore remained calm, and Toby stared at the roll of parchment, but Ms. Bones didn't look at it. Instead, she looked at Fudge and said, "This is not in order."

"Then ask Dumbledore according to these parchments." Fudge snatched the parchment angrily. He obviously knew what was written on it, and without reading it, he directly asked Dumbledore aggressively: "You admit that you have a sister named Ariana Dumbledore?"

There were many voices of dissatisfaction in the jury, and now it was back to the original Fudge's offense to Dumbledore.

"Yes." Dumbledore said calmly.

The noise suddenly died down.

Fudge continued, "She didn't go to school?"

"No." Dumbledore said again, calmly and a little scary.

Toby's eyes widened slowly - he thought of a previous conversation with Dumbledore.

That conversation involved the teaching content of the ancient magic class, and it was related to Moran.

Suddenly, without waiting for Fudge to ask again, Dumbledore said frankly: "We have been using her poor health as an excuse to shirk all things that may lead to her exposure, including Ms. Bagshot's friendly invitation."

"But in fact, my sister - Arianna Dumbledore - she is an Obscure."

There was silence for the third time, this time without any noise.

Angela covered her mouth in surprise, and Toby's fists were clenched unconsciously.

At this moment, Dumbledore stood up suddenly, frightened Fudge looked at Scrimgeour, and the Aurors quietly clenched their wands—Toby also stood up, and then Angela.

"It's okay." Dumbledore turned his head and signaled. He walked up to Fudge alone, stretched out his hand and asked, "Can I see what's written on these parchments?"

No one knew what the result of the refusal would be. Even Fudge dared to take such a risk, but tremblingly persuaded: "I advise you not to mess around, this is in the Ministry of Magic."

"I didn't intend to mess around." Dumbledore said, took the parchment, and slowly opened it one by one.

Everyone just waited quietly like this, no one disturbed.

Seriously, this was the first time Toby had seen the Headmaster so powerful outside of school, and it was much scarier.

After 10 minutes, the sound of turning the paper finally disappeared, and as Dumbledore put down the parchment, the oppressive atmosphere was also swept away.Fudge didn't dare to reach out to pick it up, but just motioned to put it on the table.

There were horror and anxiety on the faces of the jurors, and Dumbledore saw their expressions one by one.

"Although there are some mistakes and omissions." He said softly: "But one thing written above is correct. I am indeed suspected of killing my sister."

The silence lasted for nearly half a minute.

Fudge didn't expect Dumbledore to admit it so quickly, he didn't ask Dumbledore to return to his original position, perhaps because he didn't dare to do so, but directly said more of his own words: "Then you also admit that the matter Do you have revenge on Grindelwald?"

Many people can't understand this sentence. Not everyone knows the three-person duel between Grindelwald, Aberforth, and Dumbledore. Fudge was interrupted before he could finish speaking .

Dumbledore looked at Fudge, and said, "I wonder, where did the Minister get his clue?"

Umbridge, standing far behind him, said, "Who else? The witnesses are already here."

"No." Dumbledore shook his head slowly: "The witness is not her. You know this sentence perfectly, Fudge, and you—" He turned his head and said: "Scremgeour, you are making a deal with the devil .”

Scrimgeour had his wand in his hand, making no attempt to hide it.

Fudge stammered, "I don't understand what you're talking about—your students are the real monsters, Toby Highmore, do you know how many crimes I've found him? Do you think Want to see it for yourself?"

Fudge took out piles and piles of files from under the table, the piles were taller than a grown man, but this didn't seem to be enough, there seemed to be a bottomless pit under the long row of desks, and there was no end to it.

"That's not the point." Dumbledore shook his head and said, his disappointment with Fudge deepened: "The real point is that Grindelwald has the threat of controlling Azkaban and thousands of dementors, but You are indifferent to this scene."

"In addition, I also have witnesses who can prove that what I said is true."

There was a knocking sound from outside the heavy wooden door.

"It seems that he has arrived." Dumbledore said, Toby and Angela looked at each other, and then looked back together.

The wooden door was pushed open, and two people walked in—one of them was about 50 years old, with a straight back, stiff movements, short black hair neatly groomed, and the seam in the middle was a bit unnaturally straight.His mustache, as narrow as a toothbrush, seemed trimmed with a slide rule.

The other person was a little old man with a kind smile on his face, and he was dressed in the same white robe as Angela. Just by looking at it, it was easy to make people feel good.

"Crouch?" Fudge asked in surprise, "Why are you here? It's been so long since the case of Sirius. Although it was the result of your judgment, even if you are held accountable, you can't be held accountable. After all You're no longer in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement—"

"It's the Minister of International Magic Exchange and Cooperation." Barty Crouch said seriously, "I'm not here for today's case, but to receive this guest—please allow me to introduce you, Babajid Akinbad, the principal of Waggadu, he came as a witness."

Aginbad greeted everyone with a smile, especially when he looked at Angela and Toby, his smile was very kind.

His English is very bad, but fortunately he can be heard clearly, but the content of what he said is not so easy for people to accept.

"I have brought the body of Sirius Black."

He said: "Of course, it wasn't me who killed him. He was already dying at that time, and I couldn't save him."

"Before he died, Sirius Black told me that the reason he was able to escape from Azkaban was because Gellert Grindelwald lured the dementors in the prison, so that he escaped calmly. After this, Black refused to give in to Grindelwald's threats and managed to escape again."

"What threat?" Ms. Burns asked in horror.

Akinbad glanced at Toby, then said gently:

"Of course it's the threat of another war—Grindelwald wants to wipe out the entire wizarding world with black magic and fresh blood. Isn't that what he did once?"

"Now, he's going to repeat the process all over again."

(End of this chapter)